This story is from June 24, 2016

Neil O’Brien: A Quizzical Mind, Anglo-Indian icon

Memories crowd me, as I collect my thoughts on my friend and mentor Neil O'Brien. My first impressions of Neil were as a publisher. It was 1976 and Neil had just accepted my manuscript for a textbook.
Neil O’Brien: A Quizzical Mind, Anglo-Indian icon
Memories crowd me, as I collect my thoughts on my friend and mentor Neil O'Brien. My first impressions of Neil were as a publisher. It was 1976 and Neil had just accepted my manuscript for a textbook.
Memories crowd me, as I collect my thoughts on my friend and mentor Neil O'Brien. My first impressions of Neil were as a publisher. It was 1976 and Neil had just accepted my manuscript for a textbook. Consequently, I was a regular visitor to Oxford University Press, Calcutta, where Neil was regional manager. As I hung around the office, I observed the reverence the staff had for Mr O'Brien.

"He was a Colossus in publishing," says my friend Aloke Roychowdhury, who edited the textbook back then. "He knew the market better than anybody. It was uncanny, the way he would evaluate a typescript. If he chose to publish, the book did well."
Neil had a phenomenal memory. Aloke remembers accompanying him on a flight from Calcutta to Delhi. Neil was poring over a heavy tome of facts on the English soccer league. He passed the book over. "Ask me any question," he challenged. "I'll answer." And Neil did!
But there was something more than his rattling memory. Neil O'Brien had good taste, testimony of which was the wide range of books he published. He had a donnish humour and a taste for pithy aphorisms. I still remember this one: "Two people you can't hide your secrets from are your tailor and your publisher!"
He was the father of quizzing. I think he remained bemused over this unprovoked paternity. "It started innocently enough," he once explained. "Some of us would gather at the club and there there'd be a few rounds of questions and drinks, that's all."
I was witness to the phenomenon when dozens of teams participated and a thousand-strong audience thronged the finals at Dalhousie Institute in Calcutta. The attraction of a Neil O'Brien quiz was the novelty of his questions and his meticulous reliability.

In fact, I was a beneficiary of the craze. Doordarshan invited me to do the occasional children's quiz on TV, which I enjoyed possibly more than the children. In 1982, I was in a boat in Dal Lake with my family when another boat accosted us. "Are you from Calcutta?" said a man in the party.
"Yes!" I said, surprised.
"Do you do quiz?"
"Oh, he's recognized me," I whispered to my family. "Yes I do," I said aloud.
"Are you Neil O'Brien?" was the next question.
It was in his stars for Neil to fulfil a challenging social and political role and, being a people's person, he not only filled that space but also enhanced its value. In 1978, Neil was MLA when the service staff of St James' School, where I was principal, went on strike. It was a trying time for the school as tempers were running high. Neil came forward to help. Here was a different man to the one I knew. Detached when others were involved, cool when others were overheated and quiet amidst the theatrical din. Neil guided us to a settlement that was fair for the school and the staff. By these and other actions, Neil O'Brien won the respect of the community and the government.
As an Anglo Indian, Neil a profound yet affectionate understanding of the culture of the community. Within the community, he laughed at its foibles but he was a doughty opponent of those who, in his judgement, made light of the character of the community in print or on film.
Despite the nature of his responsibilities, Neil lived simply and with his devoted wife Joyce who supported his work with fervour raised a remarkable family. He epitomized the community that celebrates the joy of living.
— The author was head of St. James School, Calcutta, Modern High School, Dubai, and Doon School, Dehradun.
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